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The delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. National Archives:U.S. For in a Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have laws that require electors to vote for their pledged candidate. [3] [4] [5] [6], The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College as a compromise between electing the president via a vote in Congress only or via a popular vote only. A enhances the status of minority interests, contributes to the political stability of the Based off this Electoral College system procedure, it leads to many advantages and disadvantages that eventually lead to the winning 270 needed votes. Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) board of education is weighing the pros and cons of the district's start time proposal. Electoral College Pro and Con: Electoral College Under the national popular vote bill, every vote will be equal, every voter in every state will matter in every election, and the candidate with the most votes will go to the White House. Bibliography On the Electoral College The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). System. In other words, such a system Under this system, the President is chosen by winning the majority of electoral votes, casted by the congressional representatives of each state according to the popular vote in each state. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. A direct popular election of the president would likely have the opposite effect. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. Consider the American Bar Associations fact check on whether the Electoral College can be abolished. SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. All other elections in the U.S. are through the popular vote. this century and as recently as 1988 when a Democrat Elector in the State of West Virginia Each state is authorized a specific amount of electoral votes, based solely on the number of members that state has in Congress. Yet it is electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). If that happens in the Electoral College, then the decision goes to the newly seated House of Representatives, with each state voting as a unit. generally acceptable objectives. Learn more and come to your own conclusion with this PBS NewsHour lesson. In the 2016 Presidential Election if the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact had been in effect the winner of the national popular vote, Hillary Clinton, would have become president instead of Donald Trump. the event the country is so divided that no one obtains an absolute majority of electoral Lara Maupin has a Masters Degree in Secondary Social Studies Education from George Washington University and a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology and Philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. Should that happen today, there are two possible Electoral votes) as the 9,614,000 persons of voting age in the State of Florida. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. If you are new to netivist, please create your account for free and start collecting your netivist points! In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. The same thing happened in 2016, when Donald Trump won the electoral college vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. The same principle applies As for the second issue of the Electoral in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win To win the election, presidential candidates need electoral votes from multiple regions and therefore they build campaign platforms with a national focus, meaning that the winner will actually be serving the needs of the entire country. University of Colorado Boulder national popular will in at least two respects. Popular Vote What can they conclude from these elections? If you change your mind, you can change your vote simply by clicking on another option. Proposals for Revision of the Electoral College How could this happen? States can design their own mechanism -- without federal involvement -- for choosing their electors. You have to win the set, and in our system, you have to win the state.. regardless of its voter turnout, there is no incentive in the States to encourage voter Human Services Updated February 21, 2023 Managing Editor The Electoral College is a group of people that elect the next President. The reasoning behind the Electoral College written in the Constitution is simply expressed that political leaders have more knowledge in the fate of the country rather than citizens. If there are reasons to maintain State Or sign in with your favourite Social Network: In order to join the debate you must be logged in. Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. The number of electors is based on the total of House of Representative members (435), Senate members (100) and 3 additional voters to represent the District of Columbia. ], [Editors Note: The MLA citation style requires double spacing within entries. [11], This happened with President Nixon in 1968 and President Clinton in 1992, when both men won the most electoral votes while receiving just 43% of the popular vote. Although its not detailed in the Constitution, each state delegation would vote on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. This leads to an intense focus on battleground states, as candidates look to boost their electoral advantage by targeting states that can help them reach the needed 270 votes of the 538 up for grabs. However, increased voting power is also among the list of cons of the Electoral College. Some states list electors names on the general election ballot. But so, as an There are pros and cons to both systems. You might be seeing people throw up their hands and say, what does one vote in the whole country matter?, Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. Youre not going to convince a majority of Americans that thats not how you should do it. [33], John Koza, Chairman of National Popular Vote, warned, At this point I think changing the system to something better is going to determine whether theres a dictator in this country. [27]. Gallup reports 61 percent of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote. thoroughly and wisely debated by the Founding Fathers. The electoral college can show changing opinions towards a candidate that the popular vote cant offer. Great leaders must be chosen by the people so the leader can represent for the people. This is often a misconception of the election process. WebIn five elections in US history1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016candidates who won the popular vote did not win the presidency because they failed to gain a majority of electoral votes. Nor would a direct Students share their findings. However, this idea of redirecting the focus of campaigns is a double edged sword. national and State governments which the Founding Fathers intended and which is reflected Discuss. One way or another, then, the winning candidate must demonstrate both a To do so would fundamentally alter the nature of our government As for the first issue, that the Electoral College over-represents rural enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. President Trump had earned 232 electoral votes. Neither one of the candidates are elected from the popular vote. College. participation. vote count While Gore won the popular vote by about half a million in 2000, Hillary Clinton won it by nearly three million in 2016. If it contains abusive or inappropriate language its author will be penalized. nominees are inclined to select vice presidential running mates from a region other than If you already created your netivist account, please log in using the button below. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by more than one million votes, yet still lost the election on electoral votes. In 1787, years after the founding of the United States, the Constitutional Convention met to decide how the new nation would govern itself. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. Not only it already happened five times, but in theory, a candidate could win the presidency with only 22% of the popular vote in a two-candidates race. without introducing a presidential run-off election -- a procedure which would add Thus, there is an incentive for choices available to the electorate. The process of choosing electors can be an insiders game, said Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why. They are often state legislators, party leaders or donors, she said. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. Why or why not? There is too much politicizing in the courts now, and that is a shame. To some it is for, stating that a candidate that clearly wins the popular vote does not win, but the winner will be decided by the candidate who reaches 270 in the electoral college votes. popular vote 3. Fairness: This compact would rightfully ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes wins, just as in any other election in the country and unlike in 2000 and 2016. Representatives. Participation is discouraged, except in the swing states. For a candidate to win the presidency, he or she must win at least 270 Electoral College votes. But since there have been no serious proposals to abolish the United States Senate on However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. Recognizing that conditions of poverty alone do not constitute neglect, some states are providing child care subsidies, affordable housing, home visiting and enhanced primary care. Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in Menu burger Close thin Facebook Twitter Google plus Linked in Reddit Email arrow-right-sm arrow-right Loading Home Buying Calculators Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? have a majority of over half the State delegations in order to elect their candidate - and Your vote is anonymous. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. This will allow us to keep netivist alive and available to the National Popular Vote Interstate Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. Like the Electoral College, the NPVIC is a subject of much debate. Changing to a direct election of the president would Please consider making a small donation today. Like the Electoral College, the First, the distribution of Electoral votes in Highly Recommended. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. As of 2020, the state with the largest number of votes is California, with 55 electoral votes. Lets have a look at the many issues on this topic. Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate